Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes Position in United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 10,600 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $213,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of UFCS. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 111.4% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 178,041 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,516,000 after purchasing an additional 93,810 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in United Fire Group by 134.3% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 143,123 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,827,000 after buying an additional 82,037 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in United Fire Group by 8.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,478 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $287,000 after buying an additional 1,112 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in United Fire Group by 4.5% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 373,607 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $7,379,000 after buying an additional 16,134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in shares of United Fire Group in the third quarter worth about $422,000. 62.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on UFCS. Piper Sandler restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $21.00 price target on shares of United Fire Group in a research note on Monday, April 1st. StockNews.com upgraded United Fire Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th.

United Fire Group Stock Up 1.6 %

UFCS opened at $22.44 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.49. United Fire Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.41 and a 52-week high of $27.72. The company has a market cap of $567.28 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.02 and a beta of 0.35.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The insurance provider reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.12. United Fire Group had a negative return on equity of 4.38% and a negative net margin of 2.71%. The company had revenue of $287.32 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $278.70 million. On average, research analysts forecast that United Fire Group, Inc. will post 1.1 EPS for the current year.

United Fire Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. United Fire Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently -54.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other United Fire Group news, Director Christopher R. Drahozal sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.15, for a total value of $55,375.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 454,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,064,140.45. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Micah G. Woolstenhulme bought 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $21.76 per share, for a total transaction of $32,640.00. Following the acquisition, the vice president now directly owns 32,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $712,922.88. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Christopher R. Drahozal sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.15, for a total value of $55,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 454,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,064,140.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About United Fire Group

United Fire Group, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides property and casualty insurance for individuals and businesses in the United States. The company offers commercial and personal lines of property and casualty insurance; and reinsurance coverage for property and casualty insurance. Its commercial lines include fire and allied lines, other liability, automobile, workers' compensation, fidelity and surety coverage, and other insurance products; and personal lines comprise automobile, and fire and allied lines coverage, including homeowners, as well as provides assumed reinsurance products.